Chris Brodeur

Updated 10:58 pm, Wednesday, November 14, 2012

SOUTH WINDSOR -- Newtown senior goalkeeper Caitlin Yakush lay squeezing one last harmless chip as the magic final seconds melted away, one last threat from the hard-charging home team officially averted.

Thanks, again, to a brilliant offensive performance from Amy Martin, and a stout and committed effort from its revamped defense, the sixth-seeded Nighthawks hung on for a 2-1 win over third-seeded South Windsor Wednesday to secure a second straight trip to the Class LL semifinals.

Newtown will face SWC rival New Milford, a 1-0 winner over Middletown in penalty kicks on Wednesday, on Saturday at a time and site to be determined.

"We got two goals early and it took the whole team to hold the game there," said Martin, who buried the first shot of the game in the fifth minute and added a score on a free kick -- her third such tally in the last two games -- later in the half. "It was intense. They pushed their whole team forward."

Martin was sprung by fellow senior Melissa Buccino for a one-on-one with South Windsor keeper Hanna Basile, who, with a sliding effort, couldn't get a hand on the low, curling strike.

Martin's second score, at 17:39 of the first, was a high-arcing, 20-yard strike into the upper left corner, her 18th goal of the season.

"Scoring all these goals, scoring on all these free kicks, it's all indicative of the fact that she doesn't want her senior season to be over," said Newtown coach Marc Kenney. "She always responds to the pressure."

Another from the Nighthawks' sizable senior contingent to step up was midfielder Bridget Power, who for the second time in as many games moved into the unfamiliar role of sweeper to solidify the defense.

South Windsor drew to within 2-1 on a brilliant cross from Amy McConnell that found the foot of Auna Harvey in the 32nd minute, but a few halftime tweaks allowed the Nighthawks to withstand steady pressure on a slow, grass surface in the second half.

"We dealt with their pressure much better in the second," Kenney said. "It's the first time I've ever played with a sweeper, but I thought it was a way for us to deal with the pressure we were going to see against these teams. (Bridget) is athletic, she wins balls in the air and the other backs to a good job of absorbing pressure."

The Nighthawks fell to Trumbull, 1-0, in last year's semis. The motivation is built-in for such a veteran group.

"What happened last year couldn't have motivated us any more than it did," Martin said.